Little did they know
by MindyMN
Summary: Ever since Barry had gotten out of the Speed force there was only one thing he wanted - to go after the man he loved. And Oliver wanted exactly the same. But they were both too scared to do that. And even when their paths crossed again eventually, it was clear that was just a small step. Thankfully there was someone who intended to make sure they wouldn't stop there.


_**Hey! This is my work for Olivarry Secret Santa 2017 event for my good friend olliebeary. And I decided to share it here too. Yay! I hope you'll like it. Although it's already after Christmas I hope you are still enjoying holidays and everything. And I also hope this will make you smile! ;)**_

* * *

Barry knew he was stalling. Ever since he'd gotten out of the Speed Force his mind just couldn't stop wandering off to Star City. Yet he'd never really found the courage to run there. It was so pathetic that it was really starting to get on his nerves.

And the more days passed, the harder it got for him.

However, his curiosity was still an unbeatable opponent and therefore every time he got a chance, he asked about how Team Arrow was doing and how mostly Oliver had been doing these past six months. Unfortunately, that only exacerbated how terrible he felt. And when he'd already thought that it couldn't get any worse, the news about Oliver putting down the hood for good found their way to his ears. And yet even this didn't convince him to finally get his ass moving. But thankfully, in the end someone else did.

"Would you stop with that pining?" Cisco asked when he was totally sure that no one was in STAR Labs but them. Not that it would make any difference whatsoever. After all Barry hadn't been as subtle as he thought.

"What pining?" Barry replied and tilted his head to one side confusedly.

Cisco couldn't help but sigh and cross arms over his chest. "Look, man, at this point I'm pretty sure almost everyone knows about your crush on him. So, for the love of God, do yourself a favor and just go after him."

Barry's head suddenly dropped, and he refused to say anything. He couldn't even bring himself to be shocked that people knew about his embarrassing crush on the Emerald Archer anymore. All that mattered was that Cisco was right. It might have seemed ironical, but Barry was sick of running and avoiding. He was sick of hiding how he truly felt. And him and Oliver were friends after all who were supposed to be always there for each other. Barry had failed in that and it was time to make it right finally.

Eventually he dedicated Cisco a thankful smile and without saying anything else he zipped from STAR Labs. The journey to Star City had never seemed longer.

* * *

When Oliver entered his apartment, Raisa was already gone. She'd asked for a night off and he had no problem in providing it. She was a clear blessing for him and William after all.

He walked instantly toward William's room where he found his son rather more frustrated than he'd expected.

"No math today?" he asked and lifted one of his eyebrows slightly. From what he knew from Felicity, William was getting better in it with each passing day so why exactly was he so frustrated?

William didn't even bother to look at him as he was lying on his bed and reading his textbook. "Science project actually."

Now he knew why.

"The way I see it, it's really hard to say which subject I love more," William pointed out sarcastically and sighed. "Probably math since Felicity has been helping me."

"And what did Felicity say about your science project?" Oliver questioned and came closer to sit down on the edge of William's bed.

William finally let go of his textbook and returned to a sitting position. "She was happy to help, but we both have problems with coming up with ideas and so we're stuck. You don't know anyone who could help us with that by any chance, do you?"

Oliver smiled weakly at that question. Of course, he knew someone who could and would even be thrilled to help with that. And if it was anyone else, he would have no problem in calling right away, but the odds were not in his favor and everything seemed much more difficult. And Oliver hated it.

"I'll see what I can do," he claimed in the end and decided to leave William alone for now. He grabbed his phone instantly and without any hesitation searched for the right number.

However, he couldn't bring himself to dial it no matter how hard he tired. And so instead of conquering his fear, he was just nervously pacing back and forth in the living room. Because after these dragging few months he'd let himself believe that there was no chance of him ever seeing Barry again. And although it had hurt far more than he was willing to admit, he'd managed to accept it with time. But now Barry was back in the land of living and Oliver couldn't face him. And the lack of free time caused by being the mayor was definitely not the main reason for it.

However, before he could brood about this even more, a doorbell rang and caused him immediately to forget about his drama. But that relief faded out in a record time as he opened the door and found before him no one else than the Scarlet Speedster himself.

"Barry? What are you doing here?" he blurted without a second thought. Slight regret followed right after that, so he cleared his throat and let the brunet enter. "Come on in."

And Barry didn't have to be told twice. However, as soon as they both found themselves inside the apartment, saying something suddenly became nearly impossible for him.

He couldn't stop shaking. His breaths were starting to be more uneven with running seconds and he couldn't even convince himself to look at the blond, damn it. He felt helpless beyond imagination without any logical reason and he hated it.

Oliver loathed the awkward silence, which surrounded them. He had so many questions and yet he wasn't willing to let any of them slip from his mouth. And he wasn't blind either. He could see that Barry desperately needed help. Whatever that meant. Therefore, this was not about him. Little did he know that this was indeed about him whether he liked it or not.

"Did something happen?" he asked the obvious and yet the answer was nowhere to be found. Only Barry knew it, but he still persistently refused to speak up. Instead of that he continued to fidget and shake so much that Oliver thought he was going to collapse. And so in the end the blond chose a different route.

"Are you alright?" he asked seriously and yet ever so softly like Barry meant a whole world to him. Which he secretly did, in fact. He made a slow movement forward and placed his hand on the brunet's shoulder, hoping that the gesture wouldn't startle the man before him. And surprisingly it had quite the opposite effect.

Barry stopped fidgeting for a second when he felt Oliver's hand on his shoulder. And although his whole body started radiating an extreme amount of heat, small part of him felt more in place than ever before. The gesture was so comforting that he did indeed find the courage to speak up.

"Uh… yes… I don't know," he stuttered brokenly and ran a sweaty hand through his hair. "I'm sorry for running in here without any heads-up."

Oliver blinked at that sentence. How could he be mad at him for that? He'd been desperate to see him for such a long time. Sometimes it had even felt like those six months were even worse than his five years on Lian Yu. Even though the idea seemed so stupid and illogical. On the island, he'd had to face things normal people wouldn't even fathom. And even when he'd gone to Hong Kong and Russia, his situation hadn't gotten any better.

These past six months, he'd been the mayor of Star City and also the Green Arrow by night. Yet he couldn't bring himself to be happy. Or at least satisfied by that to say the least. He could not when Barry hadn't been there with him. And when the idea of him never being able to come back from the Speed Force had seemed more and more realistic with each coming day. Until Oliver had started truly believing it for real.

With Laurel during those five years, he could always find some light. Because she'd been safe. He'd been the one who had been supposed to come back one day. And that was okay. It was something he could take. But with Barry being the one who had been gone, he couldn't handle that. No matter how hard he tried.

His hand still stayed exactly where it had been although he was ready to be rebuffed by the brunet. But for now, it seemed okay. "Don't be sorry. I'm glad you're here."

There was a small part of him which was tempted to slap himself. After six months this was the best he could do? Just be glad?

However, he fought his inner arguments and just led the brunet sit down on the couch. And for a second, he really thought that it was disappointment he was seeing on Barry's face when he let go of him. But it quickly got replaced by a stoic expression. Therefore, he had no other choice than just to force the idea to disappear right away.

"Do you need anything?" he asked carefully, not so blunt in touching Barry anymore.

Barry just couldn't stop fiddling with his fingers. "Water would be nice."

Oliver quickly nodded and headed toward the kitchen.

And as Barry was waiting, his eyes instantly flew over to where he supposed William's room was. A sudden guilt started piercing through him. He didn't know why. It just did. Because he knew this wasn't right and that it wasn't fair. He knew exactly how William must have felt after he'd lost his mother. And even though he still had Oliver, which was a luxury Barry couldn't have afforded when even his dad had been taken from him too, it still must've hurt. And Barry just couldn't stop thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was partly his fault too.

Sounds of Oliver's footsteps brought him back to reality. When the blond handed him the glass of water, Barry managed to form a smile. Strained in almost every way, but it was something. Or at least, that was what Barry was trying to believe in.

He drank all the water at once. His body still felt like it was on fire and although he knew water couldn't do much to help him with that, the short moment of cold in his throat did ease it a little bit.

"Someone is thirsty. Should I get another one?" Oliver politely asked and smiled.

However, Barry didn't return it and just placed the glass on the table before them. "No, that's okay. Thanks."

Then the unpleasant silence struck them once again, making every second seem long like a lifetime. And it was testing Barry's sanity to say the least. Not even six months of reliving countless memories of Oliver in the Speed Force could convince him to actually say something. And he couldn't help but wonder if there even was a way how to forget about this stupid fear once and for all.

In the end Oliver was the one who lost his patience first. "Just know that whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here. And if not, that's okay with me. I'm willing to wait."

Barry exhaled frustratingly and probably for the first time looked right into Oliver's penetrating blue eyes. "Why are you so nice to me?!"

That question caught Oliver off guard to say the least. So he had to blink a few times before he could speak up again. "Why wouldn't I be? Barry, you are my friend."

This time Barry scoffed and started massaging his temples. "Am I? Even when I didn't find it in me to actually come here sooner?"

"You were stuck in the Speed Force for six months, Barry, so you didn't exactly have a choice."

"But even when I came back, it still took me more than a month to come here," Barry complained angrily and ran a hand through his hair.

"Maybe. But I haven't found it in me to come after you sooner either even when I had plenty of chances. So I guess we're both to blame for that," Oliver pointed out and squeezed Barry's shoulder reassuringly.

But Barry still refused to relax. "Oliver, you're the mayor of Star City and even though you're not the Green Arrow anymore, you have a lot on your shoulders. FBI is gunning for you and you even have to take care of your son now. It takes minutes for me to run here. I'm the one who should've come here sooner."

It pained Oliver to see the brunet hurting so much, but the fact Barry knew so much about him couldn't leave him cold either. It actually caused the corners of his mouth to quirk in a small smile, because it was a sign that Barry cared. And that was much more than what Oliver had been hoping for these days.

He leaned slightly toward the brunet, reaching the borders of Barry's personal space and still keeping his distance. "Barry, believe me when I say that if I really wanted to, I would do anything to get to Central as soon as possible. But I didn't do anything. Probably for the same reasons you didn't either. And I don't actually believe that this is the main reason why you came here in the end. So please, tell me what's really wrong."

Barry sighed and kept his head lowered. He could feel hundreds of tears fighting their way out of his eyes. But he wouldn't let them. Not before Oliver. That was also one of the reasons why he just couldn't make any eye contact with the man next to him anymore. Because he was afraid that one mere look was all that was needed for Oliver to see everything. How pathetic and weak he in fact was and especially the feelings he held in his heart. He'd been feeling this way about the Emerald Archer for a long time, but the inability to confess was killing him now more than ever. All he wanted was to just scream it out so loud that the whole world would hear him. But he couldn't. Not when he was so sure they wouldn't be reciprocated.

"I'm just tired," he whispered so silently that he thought that Oliver hadn't heard him at first, but he didn't care. Saying those words even for the first time was enough for him. Saying them twice was something unthinkable. "It just seems to me that everywhere I go I screw up everything I can."

Single tear had indeed managed to escape and stream down his face. He silently cursed on himself for being so weak. But that anger actually succeeded in holding him back from letting even more tears out. And when he looked from the corner of his eye at the blond, it seemed like Oliver hadn't noticed anything. Or maybe he had and was just ignoring it for Barry's sake. At this point, Barry no longer cared. He was so grateful that Oliver was just silently waiting for him to continue. Talking this way seemed much easier when he knew there was someone willing to listen to him without the need to cut him off somehow. It was only one of many things which had caused Barry to fall in love with him.

"And lately I just feel like my powers do more harm than good," he continued, pressing his forehead against his palms. "Maybe it's stupid, but I can't stop thinking about how it would've looked like if I hadn't run back in time that night to save my mother. If the Flashpoint had never been created. Cisco would've still had his brother. Caitlin would've been normal. And I know they've already forgiven me, but that doesn't change the fact that our friendship was scarred by that and it always will be."

"And maybe even Savitar would've never existed if it hadn't been for the Flashpoint. And instead of seeing HR dying, I could actually use my powers for good and help you against Chase. That way, William would've still had his mother and Thea would've been okay."

Oliver sighed and slowly blinked. Was Barry seriously blaming himself for what had happened on Lian Yu? Because the way Oliver saw it, of all people Barry was the least to blame for that. Hell, by the time it had been happening, Barry had been already trapped in the Speed Force or so Oliver had been told. So why did he just insist on taking this weight on his shoulders all by himself? When Oliver wished to do nothing else but take it off of him?

"That's a lot of ifs and maybes for me," he pointed out in the end, afraid that he was going to upset the man next to him. But he couldn't just leave him hurting like this. That was not happening under his watch. "I mean you could be right, but we can never know for sure. And there is not much to do about it now, is there?"

"And you're okay with that?" Barry questioned bitterly and returned to fiddling with his fingers. Small part of him was secretly hoping that Oliver would stop him from doing that by catching his hands abruptly. But such naïve thoughts had no place in reality. Oliver Queen after all wasn't a fan of that type of contact and even if he'd been, there was no reason for him to actually show that kindness to Barry.

"We had this conversation a year ago, Barry, when the Dominators hit us."

"You told me that anyone would do the exact same thing if they were me."

"And I meant it, just as much as I do now. I would do it and if you asked William I can guarantee you that he would do it too. And you can't blame yourself for what happened at Lian Yu either. Adrian Chase was my responsibility. Not yours. You beat Savitar. That's all that matters."

Barry frowned and sniffled. Memories he hated so much started pushing the tears out once again. And for some reason it seemed now more tempting than ever to let them. Because even after all these months, it still hurt. "I might've beaten him, but at what cost? Iris survived, but HR died and even when I thought that everything was going to be okay from there, Central City started to crumble. And when I decided to enter the Speed Force, I acted like everything was okay and that I was at peace with that when in fact I couldn't be farther from it. I was scared, Ollie, more than ever before. But I couldn't say anything out loud. Because I believed that I deserved everything that was coming for me. I was nothing good for the people then and I'm nothing good for them now."

Oliver didn't dare to break the silence which followed after those words had been spoken. It was too difficult, because he, too, was being ambushed by memories of those times. When he'd returned from the island with William by his side but without Samantha. And how his pain had even worsened when he'd called Cisco and found out about what had happened after Savitar had died.

He'd hated himself for not being able to be there for Barry. For not being able to say his goodbye to the man he loved more than he'd ever thought possible. And he'd loathed that he was never going to get a chance to tell him that. Now that Barry was here with him, he did feel a huge relief, but seeing him in so much pain and hearing this could trump that without a second thought. Barry Allen had been one of the brightest lights in Oliver's life for a long time. If even he lost hope, then what was the purpose of trying?

Maybe only searching for that hope and finding it again was.

This time, he couldn't afford to be held back by his common sense. This time he'd let himself be slightly blunter than before, so Barry would listen to him for real. And so he leaned forward and cupped the brunet's face with all tenderness he could find within himself and gently forced the latter to look right into his eyes and nowhere else. And surprisingly, Barry didn't pull away from the touch.

"Barry, listen to me. I know what you're going through. I really do, which is why you should believe me when I say that blaming yourself for any of those things won't solve anything. You might've made mistakes, but we all make them. I make them. They are normal and they definitely don't make you a bad guy. You might've hurt your friends, but they've still managed to forgive you in the end, because they know you, they love you. And they know that the good you have done trumps the bad every time."

Oliver watched as tears started rapidly streaming down Barry's face. Yet he didn't hesitate for even a second and wiped them all away. And when the gesture caused Barry's lips to subtly quirk, he instantly reciprocated it even more warmly.

"Barry, you're one of the most amazing people I know. You bring light everywhere you go like it's the easiest thing in this world. And when people have you in their lives, they don't want to lose you. Ever. Because you change so many things for better. You inspire them. Not just as the Flash but as Barry Allen."

Barry chuckled at the last sentence and Oliver could swear he couldn't possibly hear anything more beautiful anymore. "I believe I was the one who told you that."

"So take your own advice and stop hating yourself for what has already been done," Oliver suggested with a warm smile. However, he didn't pull away from the embrace just yet. He was still cupping Barry's face like it was the most natural thing in this world. And truth to be told, Barry loved every second of it.

They were so close to each other. Possibly closer than ever before and yet neither of them minded.

The butterflies in Barry's stomach were rapidly increasing in their strength and his cheeks couldn't help but start blushing slightly. Yet he didn't dare to let that bother him. He just carried on staring right into those blue eyes which felt so warm and sincere. Thanks to that it suddenly seemed much easier to smile again.

"How do you do it?" Barry asked timidly as he gripped Oliver's wrists and started rubbing his thumbs against them.

Oliver blinked a few times. "What?"

"Always manage to keep everything together. You never lose your focus nor your mind. No matter what happens."

Oliver smiled little sheepishly. "We're capable of doing even the impossible for people who are closest to us. Because they are always worth it."

And right in that moment something felt different for Barry. Because normally, he would picture Felicity, William, Thea and Dig under the term of _the closest people to Oliver_. And after that he wouldn't give it any second thought.

But now when they were still so dangerously close to each other and he could feel Oliver's breath on his face and stare into his eyes for as long as he dared, he couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, he was one of those people too. Because Oliver was one for him. Had been for a long time. And there was nothing that was going to change that for him.

This small hope was what pushed him forward in the end and made him realize that the truth just had to get out no matter the consequences. He could no longer take the pressure.

"Ollie, I-" he began, but got silenced as the sudden sound of William's door being shifted broke them both out of their trance. They both immediately let go of the other one, stood up and made the distance between them once again visible for the whole world to see. And mostly for William.

"Hey, buddy," Oliver greeted and cleared his throat nervously. "Did you make any progress?"

William frowned and sighed. "No. After so much time of thinking about a good project, I still have nothing. Science is really just a huge pain in the ass."

"Hey, watch the language," Oliver warned but William just rolled his eyes in return. The talk, however, definitely piqued Barry's interest.

"That bad, huh?" he asked with a kind smile on his face.

William finally turned his face towards him and eyed him confusedly.

Oliver took the initiative to get rid of that confusion. "This is Barry Allen. He is my _friend_. He came from Central City for a visit."

It didn't escape his attention how his dad had said the word "friend". And he definitely hadn't missed what the two of them had done when he'd walked out of his room. He hadn't seen anything exactly, but their sudden and noisy movements were way too much suspicious even for him. Unfortunately, today only one thing could be on his mind and so he decided to play along for now.

"Do you happen to be good in science by any chance?" he asked with desperation written all over his face, but he didn't care anymore. He just wanted to have this project already behind him. If that made him look pathetic, then so be it.

"I actually love science, so I guess you are in luck today," Barry replied enthusiastically.

"So you could help me with my project?"

"I'm sure Barry is tired already. We shouldn't pressure him," Oliver pointed out, hating the sudden disappointment which appeared in William's eyes as he'd said it.

But Barry was having none of that. Because yes, he'd planned on telling Oliver about his feelings and he'd been definitely going to do it, but now the magic was gone and with that even all his courage and false hopes. Saying the truth no longer felt like a good idea, but saying an awkward goodbye to the blond wasn't to his tastes either. Thankfully, this was perfect. He needed some time without Oliver by his side before he would do something stupid. And he was more than just happy to help with coming up with the best science project ever.

"That's okay. I'm happy to help, actually," he reassured and smiled at William again. Facing Oliver felt once again harder like before.

"Cool," William claimed joyfully and headed back to his room. Barry instantly followed, and Oliver could only guess what had been going to get out of Barry's mouth before they'd been interrupted. And also hope that from now on Barry was going to be okay and that he really had helped to ease the pain somehow. That was all that mattered anyway.

* * *

Even after a few days, neither of the two heroes had managed to get their shit together and finally say how they felt. And it wasn't like they'd had many encounters since their talk either. Because Oliver needed to address his mayor duties and Barry had his Flash business and also tutoring William with his science project. So there was really not much time for anything else but the mutual pining. And unfortunately for them, they weren't being subtle about it at all.

When it came to William and Barry, their bond had thrived magnificently thanks to that science project, because their meetings weren't just about that. Sure, most of the time Barry would stop by and help him with whatever he needed, but after that they always found a way how to talk about other things too.

Barry even told him how he and Oliver had met, and William could swear that the brunet's face was glowing the whole time he was talking about it. And when Barry asked about Oliver's retirement from being the Green Arrow, William didn't refuse to talk about it even though it was a touchy subject. He kindly confessed how he felt about it and was really glad when Barry didn't judge him and just understandingly smiled.

And William was really happy like this. Because talking with Barry seemed so magically easy. The young man just felt like he could tell him anything and Barry wouldn't judge him. He knew how it felt to lose a mother in such a young age and although it still wasn't something William wanted to talk about, listening to Barry helped, hearing his own struggles and moments of breakdowns and weakness was extremely soothing for his soul. Because before, William had felt like there was something wrong with him. Something, which was never going to be fixed ever again. And although he was still nowhere close to being normal, he was closer to it now when he knew that people like Barry and him had some place in this world too.

And so yeah, it really didn't take long until William began to like the brunet. It also wasn't unknown to him how his two favorite people alive were looking at each other every time they thought no one was watching them. But the way William saw it, there was no way they were going to do something about it. He wouldn't wager about this with anyone, because he was sure that if it was just up to them, they would stay being just friends for the rest of their lives, loathing themselves from the bottom of their hearts.

However, a single thought convinced William to smile, because at some point, Oliver and Barry were like him and math or science on that matter. All that was needed was just one push to make them work together and that was exactly what William wanted to do.

But at first, he couldn't help but wonder. He'd been meeting with Barry every day and Oliver had never really mentioned where was the brunet staying in Star City. And of course that under normal circumstances he would think nothing of it, but then again his father was the Green Arrow. And there were also these two sentences he still remembered after all this time. The very ones Oliver had said to him back then when his mother had been still alive and he hadn't been aware of the fact that he was Oliver's son.

 _I've actually met the Flash. He's one of the best guys that I know_.

The memory of how excited he'd gotten after hearing this caused him to warmly smile. Back then it had felt so easy to believe those words. After a while, he'd managed to figure out that Oliver had probably just made that up not that it held some meaning to him whatsoever, but now he could see everything differently.

Oliver hadn't lied to him back then at all. He'd been saying the truth. He really did know the Flash. With that the puzzle pieces finally fell in line. Because who would need a place to stay when they could just run from one city to another whenever they wanted in a superspeed?

And the way Oliver had emphasized what the Flash meant to him definitely made that clear too.

So Barry Allen, the guy William had met just a few days ago and who had been helping him with his project ever since, could possibly be the Flash, his favorite hero from childhood. But there was no way William could be one hundred percent sure of that just yet. He needed some proof and that required a plan. And of course, William preferred that than actually studying for school.

* * *

Barry was just finishing up patrolling Central. As soon as he was done, he zipped right back to STAR Labs and changed from his suit to normal clothes. It was right then when his phone suddenly buzzed and revealed an incoming message. From Oliver.

 _Oliver: I need you. Please, come to my apartment ASAP._

Barry's eyes widened, and heartbeat quickened instantly. What could've possibly happened to Oliver to make him so worried? Because, yes, it was just a message, but it was clear enough that something definitely wasn't alright with the blond. Or maybe Barry was just thinking about this too much. Either way, there was no time for a hesitation. Oliver needed him and that was enough to make Barry run to Star City as fast as he could. Not even caring about anything else anymore. That turned out to be a massive mistake in the end.

* * *

William had been counting. It had been solid five minutes since he'd asked Felicity to hack into Oliver's phone and text Barry. He knew about her nighttime activities. And sometimes he would also ask her about it or whether or not she missed Oliver in the field with them. She'd never really given him a proper answer for that, but then again, he could hardly blame her for that. It was a very problematic topic for everyone after all.

But today, he asked her where Barry was. Her instant answer was Central City. Then his plead followed and when he explained to her that he was suspecting Barry of being the Flash, of course she did her best to make William forget about such crazy ideas. But then he also told her about his other reasons, his main reasons in fact on why he was doing this. Because too many things were telling him that Oliver and Barry didn't see each other merely just as friends.

He told her how he wanted to help them with this drama. Because in his eyes, they both deserved to be happy and they couldn't be that without the other one constantly present in their lives.

Before, William had hardly believed that he could be happy ever again after what had happened to his mother. But the truth was that those two men were indeed making him happy almost every day. And to return that incredible favor, he was determined to do the same for them.

When he said this to Felicity, she really couldn't find it in her heart to say no to him. Because she, too, could see how the two heroes were longingly staring at one another. But of course, she knew it wasn't just lust or their confusion, it was love. As genuine and pure as it could be. And if they really needed help in seeing it too, she was all for it.

And so here William was in Oliver's apartment – place he'd been calling home for more than six months now. It was still a day, so Oliver was in work and Raisa went shopping for groceries. It was perfect. And all that was needed was just his favorite speedster. And after a few more seconds, the orange lightning really did appear and revealed one and only Barry Allen. William couldn't help but triumphantly smile when he realized he'd been right all along.

"Yes! I knew it! I knew you were the Flash!" he shouted excitedly.

Barry's face instantly paled and eyes widened as soon as he'd acknowledged the presence of the latter. "It's not what it looks like, William."

The younger man scowled at him and scoffed, but he could hardly be annoyed by anything right now. The great feeling, caused by being right all along, was impossible to trump. "You mean that you definitely didn't just run in here all the way from Central City in superspeed in like five minutes?"

Barry wanted to protest, but before he could, he noticed that his jacket was slightly on fire due to how quickly he'd run here. How he and also William hadn't noticed this right away was beyond his understanding, but he still rather focused on doing his best to stop the fire from making more damage. He took off the jacket, threw it on the ground and started stepping on it to suffocate the fire. As soon as he was done, his gaze returned back to the younger man, whose smirk reached even wider measures. It was the same smirk he'd seen on Oliver's face from time to time, which he so hopelessly loved. There was definitely no doubt that William was his son.

"The way I see it, you can't run from this, Barry," William taunted and crossed arms over his chest knowingly.

Barry sighed and let his shoulders drop in surrender. "Then I guess it was you who send me the text message, wasn't it?"

"Actually, I asked Felicity to do that."

"Felicity? Why would she betray me like that?" Barry demanded, offended.

The smirk on William's face suddenly disappeared and the seriousness and sorrow Barry had been more used to see on him returned. "I've lived with the man, who used to be the Green Arrow, for more than six months. My mom died because some psycho set explosives throughout the whole island and also almost killed me. I'm pretty much sure I can keep your identity a secret too."

Barry weakly smiled at those words. He hated it so much that the boy in front of him had had to go through so much in such a young age. It was disgusting that he must have experienced the unfairness of this world so soon and although Barry wished nothing more than to just make all that pain disappear, he knew that was something which was beyond even his capabilities. And thanks to the time he'd spent with William, he already knew that William didn't want words. He needed gestures. They were probably the only thing that could help him get through this now.

So Barry made a few steps forward and crouched before William, gripping his arm reassuringly. "I know. I trust you with this, don't worry. But you didn't send me that message just to prove your theory, did you? Tell me what's really going on, William."

William's head lifted back up as he smiled at the brunet in front of him. "You're right. This was never just about proving I was right. It's more about your other secret."

Barry's eyebrows furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly to one side confusedly. "I'm not sure I'm following."

"You like Oliver. More than like a friend I mean. You're in love with him."

Barry's head instantly dropped, and his hand returned back to his side. He stood up and turned away from William.

"Why don't you tell him?" William demanded when Barry refused to give him any answer.

"It's not that simple," Barry claimed sorrowfully and ran a hand through his hair. "He doesn't feel the same way. He has Felicity after all."

William's eyebrows slightly lifted. "Are you so sure about it? Because you should know that Felicity didn't want to help me at first. She only did in the end because I told her I wanted you two to finally stop pretending that everything is fine when it clearly isn't. Turned out she is a fan of you too."

"Either way, I can't tell him about my feelings."

"Why not?" William wondered with a clear disappointment written all over his face.

Barry came closer to him and looked right into his beautiful blue eyes. They reminded him so much of Oliver and yet they were so different. In their own beautiful way. They might've been pained too much already, but they still were innocent, which made it nearly impossible for Barry to say no to William. They might have not known each other for so long, but the kid had grown on him so much that Barry was willing to do anything for him. But this one thing, he just simply couldn't do. Because he knew that this decision would ruin more than would actually help.

"Because we can never know what Oliver's reaction to it would be like," he explained, trying so hard to hide his sorrow, but clearly failing. "He is one of my closest friends. I can't lose him. I don't want to ruin our friendship in case he sees me as only that. A friend. I can take that, but I wouldn't be able to take it if he hated me."

William's head lowered as he sighed. He just couldn't understand why the brunet couldn't see what he was seeing every time Oliver and Barry interacted. Why it was obvious for anyone else and also dimmed for them to see at the same time he didn't know and although it annoyed him, he understood how Barry felt. Maybe not completely, but he was aware that confessing to feelings like that definitely wasn't easy. But he liked Barry too much now to let this go. He wanted him to stay.

"Maybe you're right, but you'll never know unless you try. You kept saying this to me every time I told you I was never gonna understand science. Thanks to you science is very easy and I love it," William confessed with a sincere smile on his face.

Barry couldn't help but chuckle warmly at the fact William remembered this so well. "Looks like you are the clever one now."

William smiled warmly at him and hugged Barry with all his strength. "I had the best teacher."

At first, Barry just stood there in William's embrace, totally wonderstruck by the gesture and by the words. But after a few more seconds he did manage to break out of his trance and hugged the boy just as tightly. Not even saying anything anymore. The gesture was saying so many things on its own after all.

* * *

Few days later Oliver got the call from one and only Slade Wilson. He needed Oliver's help with finding his son. The blond's head instantly dropped when he finished the call.

Because these past days were more than perfect in his eyes. He'd spent every minute he could with William and Barry. It wasn't much but it definitely made him crave more. It was just that no one had ever made him feel so carefree, like his life hadn't been complicated at all. Like it had been normal.

And just when he'd thought that he could no longer fall in love with Barry even deeper, fate, God or whatever force had managed to prove him wrong again. There was no doubt he was going to remember those fantastic few days until he would die. And how amazing it had felt every time Barry had smiled at him. But in the end, it had also brought him pain, because it reminded him of what he could have, but was never going to have. Not when he was so certain that Barry wouldn't want that too.

But still, Slade had helped him find William. It was only fair he would do the same for him.

"Do you really have to go?" William whined as he was sitting on Oliver's bed and watching his dad packing his things.

Oliver couldn't help but smile at the idea of William missing him. It definitely warmed his whole body right away. "It'll be just for a few days, buddy. One of my friends needs me."

"More than I do?" William suddenly snapped more worriedly than angrily.

Oliver was so stunned by that question that he stopped packing right away. By now, he'd been more than used to seeing only minimal amount of emotions in his son, especially when it came to how William felt about him. And he didn't dare to blame him, because deep down he knew that he would act the exact same way if the roles had been reversed.

This was the first time William had let his guard down rather than pushed his dad away. And the mixture of Oliver's feelings was so vast that he didn't have even the slightest idea of what to do with it. He'd experienced William blaming him for everything and hating him more than anyone. He'd experienced William being scared of him and seeing him as the bad guy. And throughout all that, he'd never really dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, he would experience something as heartwarming as this. And although he hated that he was causing the boy only more pain over and over again, somehow, he couldn't help but enjoy how touched he felt by those words just a little longer. It was indeed a great feeling.

He watched as William's head hopelessly dropped in embarrassment that he'd let those words slip from his mouth. However, Oliver could only smile warmly at that. And as he sat down on the bed right next to him and placed his hand on the latter's shoulder, William's head slowly lifted back up.

"I don't want to leave you either," Oliver softly claimed and squeezed William's shoulder reassuringly, "but I can't turn my back on him. Everyone deserves their happy ending."

William suddenly leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around the man next to him. He instantly relaxed as he felt Oliver's arms doing exactly the same. Both just secretly loving how safe they felt in the embrace and also wishing that this feeling would never fade out.

And as William pulled away from the hug, his mind once again drifted back to Barry. "Everyone also includes you. Remember that."

Oliver frowned at him out of confusion. But before he could question it, the door of his bedroom suddenly opened and revealed Barry behind them.

"Hey. Raisa let me in and told me you were here," he claimed but scowled and tilted his head to one side confusedly when his eyes noticed the bag almost full of Oliver's clothes. "What's going on?"

"How about you go after Raisa and help her with something? I need to talk with Barry," Oliver demanded gently and stood up when the young man nodded in return.

William didn't really want to go. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen between his dad and Barry. But at the same time, he understood that Oliver had to go and also that Barry deserved to know where and why. He just hoped they could solve that peacefully.

As soon as William closed the door behind him and left the two men completely alone, Barry made a few steps forward, never taking his eyes off of the man before him. "Oliver, why are you packing?"

Oliver, on the other hand, avoided the eye contact like his life depended on it. "I'm leaving the states for a few days. I have to help out a friend."

Barry frowned and crossed arms over his chest suspiciously. Something was just telling him that if there was no catch behind it, Oliver wouldn't be so mysterious about it. But the blond couldn't even look at him and although it could possibly mean nothing, from Barry's perspective it hurt. More than he was ready to admit.

"Which one?" he asked in the end, because he couldn't help it. He craved more details that that.

Oliver lowered his head and sighed. "Slade Wilson."

"What?" Barry snapped angrily.

"He needs my help to find his son," Oliver explained calmly, still doing his best to avoid the judgmental stare the brunet was giving him.

Barry Allen was having none of that. He made one more step forward and placed his hand on Oliver's upper arm, forcing the latter to finally look him directly in the eyes. "You can't be serious! How can you even consider helping him after what he's done to you?"

However, Oliver only stiffened. The rage coming from Barry's words was too strong to leave him cold now. But there was also something else, which he could hear. There was worry. Or maybe Oliver was just fooling himself to make himself feel better. Either way, he had no idea which one of those emotions was winning inside the man before him. All he knew was that Barry was not right. Not really. Because there was so much the brunet didn't know.

"Barry, you don't know the whole story," Oliver claimed firmly and fixated his gaze on those hazel green eyes before him, not daring to break the eye contact anymore. "You weren't there when Adrian Chase kidnapped my team and also Samantha and William. Slade helped me on that island. The least I can do is return the favor."

"That man threatened lives of so many people including Thea, Felicity and you. He killed your mother!" Barry argued and jabbed his finger to Oliver's chest.

Oliver scoffed before he could stop himself. "Funny, now if I remember it right, Caitlin was the one who'd started working with Savitar and helped him in his attempts to kill Iris. But it seems like that doesn't bother you at all, considering she is a part of Team Flash again."

The frown on Barry's face instantly disappeared. The rage faded out and only sorrow remained. His head dropped hopelessly and as he wrapped his own arms around himself, he took a few steps back from Oliver's personal space and turned away to hide how close he was to breaking down. Part of him knew perfectly that Oliver was right and that he shouldn't be questioning him about this but trusting him instead. However, the other part was utterly terrified and worried that something bad was going to happen and Barry would lose the man he loved. Just like that. Going through this kind of pain again was definitely something he wouldn't survive the second time.

Oliver slowly closed his eyes and cursed silently, hating himself for letting those words slip from his mouth. He knew there was some truth beneath them, but at the same time he was aware that it wasn't that simple. He'd never told the brunet the whole story of what had happened on Lian Yu, which was why he couldn't expect him to understand. At least not yet. But still, Barry definitely didn't deserve to hear any of those words. The guilt that Oliver was feeling inside him was starting to get impossible for him to bear with each second.

"I'm sorry. That was unfair. I didn't mean it for real," he softly claimed with all sincerity he could find within him.

Barry sighed and turned around to face him again. "No, you are right. If you say you trust Slade, then I guess I have nothing to worry about. And who am I to you to know about this anyway?"

Oliver's heart ached when he saw how the brunet was avoiding meeting his eyes and how strained the smile on his beautiful face was. Why Barry thought so low of himself Oliver had no idea, especially when the brunet could hardly be even more precious to him. And he wanted to tell him that. He wanted to shout it to the whole world and yet his mouth had never felt drier. And it was beyond frustrating. The fact he had so much to say and couldn't find any words made him feel extremely helpless. So much, that he could no longer find it within him to even move.

"Are you going as the Green Arrow or as Oliver Queen?" Barry brokenly asked, breaking the blond from his trance.

Oliver lifted his eyebrows questioningly. "Does it matter?" After all those years it was clear that wherever Oliver had gone, he'd always had to use his Arrow persona as well at some point. Sometimes it had happened to be completely beyond the original plan, but he'd always managed. So there was really no certain answer to that question. He wasn't taking his suit of course, but the Green Arrow had never been just about that. It was also about skills. And those were the things he was definitely taking with him, totally certain they would come in handy at some point.

Barry sighed and let his head hopelessly drop as he whispered: "I guess not."

However, although it was barely audible, Oliver heard it and couldn't help but frown. Part of him wanted to pull Barry closer and held him as tightly as he could, promising sweet nothings and just feeling the presence of him so close. This part of him wanted to stay there with the brunet, but it wasn't stronger than the other part which was keeping him in check, prohibiting him from doing something stupid.

But there was one more thing he couldn't understand. Why was it such a huge problem for Barry to accept he had a mission to attend to? It wasn't like Oliver was doing it after years of retirement. So where was the harm? And yet whenever he looked at the man before him the only thing he could see was fear. And it left him completely puzzled. Before, Barry hadn't minded him going on the missions. He'd been the Green Arrow for god's sake so what had changed?

"Barry, you of all people should know that keeping some things to ourselves is part of the job. You are the Flash and I was the Green Arrow and we didn't exactly share our every move with the other one, did we?" he stated coldly and crossed arms over his chest.

Barry couldn't help but scoff, slightly irritated. "And that definitely makes it all okay, doesn't it?"

Oliver stayed silent. He had no idea what Barry wanted him to say. And here he thought that he was already skilled in reading someone's true character. But Barry had to come and ruin everything for him. Like always.

"There are just times when I wish we would share more," Barry stated and started waving his hands nervously. "I didn't know about the League of Assassins at first. You explained that to me, sure, but even then, I thought you did it only because you needed my help. You've faked your death at least two times and you didn't even have the dignity to give me some heads-up. I always had to find out about it from news or Felicity. And the first time you disappeared for weeks and I know you didn't intend to come back. You intended to die. And if Felicity got to have her goodbye with you, why couldn't I?"

Questioning Oliver with this doesn't seem fair to him. Because Barry wasn't exactly innocent either. He'd never been Barry's first choice when he'd wanted to talk about Flashpoint to someone. Other than the members of Team Flash, of course. He'd chosen Felicity and Oliver had found about it a lot later. Maybe it wasn't important, but it still secretly hurt. It still hurt that everything he knew about Savitar so far or about anyone Barry had faced Oliver found out about from either Felicity, Caitlin or Cisco. And he'd never known why. Whether it was about Barry not trusting him enough or about something else he didn't know. And he could question him about it too, but he wasn't going to. Because a completely different question was on his mind right now and he could no longer hold back from asking it.

"I've lead this life for longer than you. Each day brought new risks and not everything did always go as planned. But you've known this all along, so why does it bother you so much all of a sudden?" he asked, scowling confusedly and crossed arms over his chest.

The last pieces of Barry's patience faded out and he could no longer keep his emotions in bay. He abruptly stepped right into Oliver's personal space and shouted right into his face: "Because I care! And I'm worried sick!"

He knew that Oliver had been endangering his life even before. Back then Barry had never tried to complain. It had always been part of the job but now after the Speed Force and after everything, it was different. His feelings were different, and they'd gotten even stronger because of recent days spent with the blond and William. They'd kept him smiling the whole time and all problems had managed to disappear like it was easy. And no one had ever made it seem so easy. No one, not even Iris. Only Oliver. Even now all Barry wanted to do was to hug him with all strength he had and tell him the truth. He hated himself for not being able to, hated Oliver for not feeling the same. And that rage had to get out somehow, before it would suffocate him completely.

"Is it really so hard to believe after everything that has happened to us?" he continued to shout while Oliver stood there in a total awe. He couldn't convince himself to move or to say anything either. His mouth felt too dry for words for that, but his mind wasn't smarter.

All he could do was just stare into those hazel green eyes he loved so much. They were so close to setting the tears they held free. Such sight completely broke his stoic façade. His face instantly softened as he placed both his hands on the brunet's shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. "I gave William my word that I would always come back to him. Whatever it takes."

"It's not just about William," Barry whimpered and closed his eyes, frustrated. _It's also about me and how I feel. I can't lose you. Please stay_. He wanted to say all of that and even more, but instead of that he just lowered his head and left his eyes closed, secretly enjoying the sensation of Oliver's hands on his shoulders. It wasn't like he was going to get something more, but it was still more comforting than anything. Because that was just what Oliver was doing to him.

"I know," Oliver suddenly broke the silence and caused Barry to lift his head back up with a puzzled expression. "That's why I'm giving you the same word. That no matter what, I'll always come back, and I won't keep so much distance anymore. I promise."

And as their eyes locked, Barry no longer dared to move. Not even to blink or breathe. He kept his posture still and yet he felt so fragile. Like all that was needed for him to fall apart completely was just one little push. His heart was pounding and resonating in his head, deafening any other sound. But through all that, his common sense was still fully functioning. He was in no kind of trance anymore.

And he was really thinking about admitting everything. About saying those three magical words, because maybe it was naïve but he felt this way. He knew what he was feeling. It was one of those things Speed Force had showed him and it hadn't changed since then. And as he was inwardly repeating Oliver's words in his brain and looking directly into those penetrating blue eyes before him, it was really easy to let himself be gullible and believe that maybe somewhere deep down, Oliver felt the same way and loved him just as passionately as he did. And that was what pushed him forward in the end.

However, not a single word managed to come out of his mouth. Because Oliver's phone suddenly buzzed and made Barry realize his mistakes and false hopes again before he would confess to them. Worst timing ever.

The man before him sighed and reached into his pocket and looked at the display for a second. Then he placed it back and aimed his eyes once again on Barry. With even more softness he decided to act like nothing happened. "You were saying?"

But Barry's hope was replaced by skepticism. The courage he'd held within him just mere seconds ago was suddenly gone in a blink of an eye, leaving no trace it had ever been there before. So instead of finishing his previous sentence he pressed his eyes shut and frowned sorrowfully. He didn't even find it within him to look into Oliver's eyes again after that.

Maybe the world really didn't want him to confess to his feelings in front of Oliver. Maybe they weren't meant to be. Or maybe, just maybe, it was just his damn luck he'd gotten interrupted again.

"Just… be careful," he whispered brokenly and without even waiting for some kind of reaction from the man before him, he stormed out of the room, said goodbyes to both William and Raisa, apologizing that he couldn't stay longer, and started running back towards Central City. And if he really couldn't hold back the tears by the time he got home, no one needed to know about that.

Little did he know that back in Star City, someone was feeling just as frustrated and broken as he was. And just as in love too.

* * *

After Oliver's little mission with Slade had ended, his feelings for Barry even deepened. He'd known that the best way how to handle every situation was to keep his head in the game and that was exactly what he'd been doing. But every time there was a moment when he hadn't had to worry about his life or Slade's, his mind couldn't help but wander off back to Central City.

And even though he'd believed that after Speed Force he could hardly miss the brunet even more, the distance between them had never seemed longer. It was killing him that Barry was on his mind all the time, even in his dreams, but wasn't by his side.

And maybe, just maybe, he was little too disappointed when he came home and found Felicity there with William. It was probably just a wishful thinking to hope that Barry would be there, wasn't it? And yet he still let himself be this gullible for some reason.

Either way, he still felt miserable and unfortunately for him, William noticed it right away. There was no reason to question it when the smile on Oliver's face couldn't look more forced as William showed him his science project. For what it was worth, William understood. But that didn't mean he was going to just stand by and watch them both wallow in their sorrow like that.

It was already late when Oliver was in his room, lying on his bed with a laptop on his lap, working and trying so hard to get the Scarlet Speedster out of his head, but failing. At this point he felt beyond ridiculous. He could've survived six months without Barry by his side and now his heart just couldn't accept living without him. And those constant worries about whether Barry was still mad at him or not were torturing him even more. And after hours, his headache reached a completely new level. And as the pain started to be unbearable for him, he set the laptop aside and returned into a sitting position. He reached into one of his drawers and pulled out one thing he knew was still there, locked from the rest of the world – the mask Barry had made him.

He could still remember how he'd gotten it with a perfect detail. And even though he'd been nothing more than just a dick to Barry back then, his heart had never failed to flutter at the thought of him getting this gift from Barry. The brunet had had no reason to do such a huge favor for him and yet, he had done it anyway. Why remained unknown to Oliver even now and that was the beautiful thing about it.

And as he trailed the tips of his fingers over the precious thing, he couldn't help but weakly smile. Because he could let go of his suit and also of being the Green Arrow, but he could never find it within him to let go of this mask. The meaning of it was just too huge.

A subtle knock on the door brought him back to reality and forced him to lift his head up to see the source of it. It was William, standing in the doorway with his eyes aimed right on the mask Oliver was holding.

"Barry told me about how he'd made that mask for you," he announced and cracked a small smile as he came closer and set on the bed right next to Oliver. "He said it was about time you got a proper mask."

Oliver smiled at the memory illuminating him from inside and this time it wasn't forced, but genuine. William knew him well enough already to know the difference. "Let me guess, it was a poor identity concealer."

"That and you also looked kind of funny with the grease paint on you. His words, not mine," William remarked, which caused them both to start chuckling. As warmly and as sincerely as was possible. And here Oliver thought that laughing was the last thing he would be doing tonight, considering his frustrations. But here he was anyway with William by his side and even though his heart still illogically yearned for the brunet too, this was more than enough to brighten up his mood. However, something was telling him that his son hadn't come here just to cheer him up somehow. It was super late after all.

"Why aren't you asleep?" he asked and lifted one of his eyebrows questioningly.

William smirked and cocked his head slightly to one side. "What can I say, your brooding is too loud for me to fall asleep."

This time Oliver didn't laugh. On the contrary, the smile on his face disappeared right away and his head felt too heavy for him to hold and so he dropped it and once again aimed his eyes on the mask in his hands.

William's face instantly softened at the sight. "May I?" he asked sheepishly and pointed towards the green mask. Oliver just nodded slowly and handed him the small object. William took it carefully and smiled weakly. He'd never thought he would be holding the real mask of the Green Arrow, not even in his dreams. But then again, he'd also never thought that him and his real father would live together under one roof and that his father would be the Green Arrow himself. Or would've in fact.

"Do you miss it? Being the Green Arrow, I mean?" he innocently asked, scared beyond the imagination of the answer. He was glad that he didn't have to worry about Oliver's safety every day, but at the same time he couldn't shake off the slight feeling of guilt that it was him who had destroyed his dad's life. And such thought troubled his mind more than he was ready to admit.

"I was the Green Arrow for more than five years, long before even the Flash existed, so yeah, of course I miss it," Oliver concluded with a sad smile on his face, fiddling with his fingers nervously.

William sighed sorrowfully and let his head drop. "I'm sorry."

Oliver instantly lifted his head back up and frowned at the boy next to him confusedly. "For what?"

"For keeping you from being the hero everyone needs."

Oliver's heart ached even more at the sight of his son so broken, even though he'd been laughing so adorably just mere seconds ago. So he didn't hesitate when he placed his right hand on William's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. "There are more ways how to be a hero. It's not just about putting a mask on. I still can be the hero this city and you need me to be. I'm the mayor after all and a loving father even. There are times when I hate that I can't protect the city in a way the Green Arrow can, but I would hate myself enormously more if I lost you for my own stupidity. And if that means being only Oliver Queen, then I'm more than happy to be that for you. With no regrets."

William slowly raised his head and couldn't help but let a warm smile form on his face. Maybe the slight of guilt was still within him, but he would lie if he'd said Oliver's words were no help. Because if nothing else, it made him realize that even though he'd lost his mother, there was still someone who would do anything for him in a heartbeat. That was something he'd never thought he would have, but now he had his dad which made the pain in his heart enormously easier to bear.

Then without saying anything, he placed the mask on his eyes and frowned on his dad in the popular Green Arrow style.

Oliver scowled at him. "I don't look like that at all."

"You sure do," William protested and burst out into a laughter and Oliver had no choice than just to follow the suit. And it was really breathtaking to see the other one so happy and carefree. Because they were so much alike. Maybe neither of them would ever admit it, but although they were both lonely souls, they didn't feel lonely at all when they were together. That was because they were bonded by love. That kind of love which would survive anything. It was as simple as that.

"Do you think Barry would make me one too if I asked nicely?" William wondered and kept his huge smile intact even when the laughter died out.

"He would be honored," Oliver nodded slowly and forced himself to keep on smiling. Unfortunately for him, William could see right through the lie.

"Can I ask you something? And I want your honest answer on that," he pleaded sheepishly as the smile on his face instantly morphed into a nervous frown.

However, Oliver only smiled warmly at him and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Of course. Go ahead."

"Are you happy?" William blurted out quickly before he would get too scared to say what had been bugging him for some time. And he was beyond happy that this was finally out even though he knew this was just a beginning of what he had to say to the older man.

Oliver's smile vanished just as quickly as it appeared. He frowned confusedly and let go of William's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you're in love with Barry and don't try to deny it. At this point it's more than just obvious."

Oliver broke the eye contact they held and lowered his head to face the ground with his elbows leaning on his knees. "Barry and I... we are just friends and I don't see him as anything else."

"You should give me some credit, Oliver. I might be ten years old and also horrible in math, but I can actually put two and two together. So, you can keep pretending like everything is okay with you too. But I won't believe you. I'm not that stupid."

Oliver couldn't help but sigh as he realized there was no running from this anymore. But in the end, he managed to smile. Because of all people, William was the last one he had expected to talk about this with. Not that he minded though. It was quite the opposite. "No, you most definitely are not."

William returned that smile when he heard inches of pride in Oliver's voice. He instantly relaxed like it was the easiest thing in this world. And maybe it was when he was in a presence of someone who meant so much to him. "Then why don't you tell him?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"Really? Because the way I see it you and Barry are the only ones who are making this complicated."

This time, Oliver couldn't even crack a smile at that. He only hopelessly placed his head into his sweaty palms, without saying anything.

William took that silence as just another encouragement to keep on going. Even though it was only going to get harder for him. "You know when my mom died, I felt like my entire world was ending. Or maybe I just wanted it to end finally, because I couldn't accept that I would have to live in a world without her in it. I had no one but her and then she was gone just like that. I've never felt more alone."

A small moment of silence followed, which Oliver couldn't literally loathe more. Even after those six months, these memories still hurt like hell. That he hadn't been able to save Samantha hurt like hell and that he was partly the reason why William was so damaged pained him even more. That was just something even time couldn't heal.

"But then you came into the picture," William suddenly announced more warmly than Oliver had ever heard him talk in his presence. It was so genuine that it forced Oliver to raise his head slightly and look at the latter from the corner of his eye. The fact that William was smiling at him put everything else aside.

"And I hated you at first, because I didn't know you, not really. It didn't matter that you were doing everything in your power to help me. You weren't her. And I couldn't get through that. But even though I was being hard on you, you didn't let that stop you. You still kept trying to make me happy no matter what. And I'm sorry I couldn't see that right away."

Oliver wanted to say something to it, but he was more than just speechless. He was stunned and wonderstruck at the beauty of words he'd just heard. Because throughout his whole life he was and had been quite many things. A brother, son, boyfriend, playboy, vigilante, the mayor, hero for some people... but he'd never even dreamed of becoming a father. But he eventually had and then he could swear he'd never felt more terrified of anything. There were just always going to be so many opportunities for him to screw up even though it was the last thing he wanted. But if William really did feel this way, then he'd had to do something right, hadn't he?

"I can hardly blame you for that. Last time I checked, I was unbeatable in pulling away from people who cared about me and wanted to help me," Oliver pointed out with a weak smile, but deep inside, he'd never felt more touched.

William nodded understandingly at that and then frowned slightly. "And aren't you already tired of that? Don't you want to be with Barry for real?"

Oliver sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was done with denying what he really thought. "Of course, I want to. More than anything, actually."

"Then what's keeping you?"

"The fact he doesn't feel the same, maybe? That guy has been in love with Iris since I met him. She is his best friend from childhood. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

William turned his head away for a slight second, so Oliver wouldn't see a huge grin that formed on his face. It wasn't like William found this situation funny, he just couldn't help but smile at the odds. Both men were full grown-ups, highly intelligent even and therefore it was really beyond him that they both suspected the other one was in love with someone else. Sometimes he really did wonder whether all adults were that stupidly oblivious or whether it was just Oliver and Barry. Either way, he prayed that something like that would never happen to him. And if it would, then he would have countless of permissions to slap himself.

However, he couldn't slap Oliver. How crazy would even that be? Although slapping the original Green Arrow must have felt more than just satisfying, something was telling him that it would never do the trick. And neither would telling him about Barry and Iris' status, which Barry had mentioned once during their tutoring sessions. The blond wouldn't believe him for real anyway. So he had to choose another route.

"Maybe he does feel the same, maybe he doesn't. So what? Is that really the only thing that matters to you?" he questioned, waving his hands around.

Oliver tilted his head slightly to one side and frowned slightly out of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think you should tell him either way if you really love him. And I know that you do. I could see it every time he was here. You don't look at him the way you do at anyone else. At first I didn't quite understand it, but then I've managed to notice that you smile much more often when he is around. You don't hold back from talking about anything you want. And you are much more relaxed with him by your side. And I know that it's probably hard to listen to me. I've never fallen in love with anyone yet, but I did love my mom. I know that it's a different kind of love, but I believe it's just as strong. And the truth is that I would still do anything to see her again. Just even for a minute. You actually can see Barry and be with him. You better use that."

Oliver closed his eyes for a second. His head faced the ground as he was thinking over everything. And yet he was nowhere near to feeling so hopeless anymore. Because William's words gave him exactly that - they'd given him hope that maybe _he_ was the reason for Barry's daydreaming. That maybe Barry was already over Iris, because he had feelings for someone else. Or maybe he wasn't over her still. That was an option too even though Oliver's heart quickened its beat nervously every time he thought about it. Either way, his feelings for the brunet were already too strong for him to hide. Especially around Barry. And even if they were meant to ruin their friendship completely, Oliver no longer cared. The truth had to get out finally. Barry deserved that much.

"You know," William began and broke the older man from his trance, "when you told me that everyone deserved their happy ending and I said that also included you, I really meant it. I still do."

Oliver warmly smiled and softly whispered: "I know."

William's eyes suddenly started glittering out of the excitement and a huge smile appeared on his face. "Does that mean you will go talk to him? You should, because," he claimed and pressed the green mask on his eyes, "you don't want to fail this city, do you?"

Oliver tried to stifle his chuckle, but was failing miserably. So in the end he just rolled his eyes seriously. "Okay, give it back to me. You should be in bed by now anyway."

William lifted both of his eyebrows and extended his hand with the mask, so Oliver couldn't reach it. "And will you go talk to Barry?"

"How did you become so stubborn?" Oliver wondered amusedly.

William just cocked his head to one side adorably and smirked. "My dad taught me."

Oliver couldn't say anything to that anymore, so he just smiled warmly and let a slight feeling of pride illuminated him from inside. It was beyond breathtaking.

William kept the silence still, stood up and handed the mask back to his dad. With a huge smile he left and aimed for his bed. Oliver soon followed the suit, but it took him a lot of time before he managed to drift away to the realm of dreams. Because he was too impatient and excited for that. Night had never seemed longer.

* * *

The next day, Cisco was working in his lab, doing some minor modifications on his Vibe gear. Not that it was needed. It was just to make sure everything was okay with it. And although many people would find it boring, he didn't mind. It was what he loved.

And the silence was a bonus. Ralph wasn't there to nag him, and neither was Harry. Which was a welcome blessing to say the least. Because although they were both good for the team, their constant presence was getting on his nerves.

And so here he was, concentrating on his work more than during these past weeks and humming songs quietly. Little did he know that those things were not going to last for much longer.

"You seem busy," he heard a familiar voice and flinched as it had pulled him out of his trance. He couldn't help but sigh at that. However, as soon as he spun around and saw who was the intruder, he found it very hard to overcome his shock completely. Oliver Queen, the man he hadn't seen in more than six months at all, was suddenly standing in his lab. Cisco might have kept in touch with Felicity the whole time, but it was still a completely different thing when the Green Arrow himself had come on his own. Well, the former Green Arrow from what he'd heard. But it was a shock nevertheless. And somehow, Cisco couldn't exactly decide whether that was a good thing or a total disaster.

"Oliver! It's... wow. You're here. Did something happen or...?" he rambled quickly, not really sure what to do with this situation. But when he saw the corners of Oliver's lips quirking into a slight smile, he'd managed to relax a little. Maybe nothing was wrong after all.

"No, everything is fine, Cisco. Don't worry. There is just someone who really wanted to see STAR Labs finally. And somehow, it's really hard for me to say no to him," Oliver claimed with a slight amusement and then that someone did appear out of the blue and with a huge smile on his face stood by Oliver's side, excitement written all over his face.

Cisco's eyes widened instantly. He instinctively stood up before the Vibe suit, trying so hard to hide it somehow from William's eyes even though he was fully aware it was pointless. "This is definitely not the Vibe suit! Not the real one anyway! Just a Halloween costume I've been working on."

Oliver rolled his eyes amusedly. "Relax, Cisco. He knows everything. And a Halloween costume? Is that really the best you could do?"

Cisco frowned and started waving his arms, frustrated. "Well it's not exactly like you gave me any heads-up, is it? And when did you tell him about Team Flash anyway?"

"I didn't have to tell him anything. He figured it out all by himself that if I knew the Flash so well, I had to meet with his whole team too at some point," Oliver claimed proudly and smiled warmly at his son.

William frowned slightly and cocked his head to one side. "Are all heroes that terrible in lying or is it just you, Cisco and Barry?"

Cisco had to stifle his chuckle at that comment. "Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." It seemed funny to him that of all traits William could have inherited from his father, he'd chosen Oliver's tactlessness. Yet although he had insulted him too, Cisco couldn't help but find it rather cute. "But this isn't the only reason why you came all the way from Star City, right?"

Oliver pursed his lips and lowered his head.

William slightly punched him to get his attention and then glared at him strictly.

That cast a smile across Oliver's face and caused him to lift his head back up. "No, it isn't. I actually need to talk with Barry about something."

Cisco smirked and crossed his arms. "Finally!"

And while William couldn't help but chuckle at that one single word, Oliver's eyes only widened in confusion. "You knew?"

"Sure did, but then again who doesn't? Barry is really terrible in hiding his feelings and from what Felicity told me you're not exactly subtle about it either."

Before Oliver could say anything to that, Caitlin suddenly appeared and smiled when she spotted the two visitors.

"Oliver is going to talk with Barry, Caitlin, about you know what," Cisco announced wickedly and formed a smug smile when Oliver just glared at him in return.

"Oh finally!" she exclaimed happily which caused both Cisco and William to chuckle. Oliver had no other choice than just stand there in awe.

And when the laughter died out, Caitlin turned to William and smiled at him kindly. "You must be William. It's great to finally meet you."

William shrugged sheepishly but returned the smile nonetheless. "You heard about me?"

"Of course, we did," Cisco replied, put a lollypop into his mouth and smirked at Oliver once again. "Barry was talking about you and Oliver all the time. We tried to make him shut up, but nope, it was a lost cause."

Oliver could no longer take Cisco's teasing so before his nervousness would make him regret the decision of ever coming here completely, he shifted his weight and crossed arms over his chest. "Where is Barry?" he asked, slightly irritated, but still calm enough.

"In the Speed Lab," Caitlin replied gently and offered him an encouraging smile.

Oliver nodded in gratitude and then turned to William. "You're gonna be okay here, buddy?"

"Are you kidding? This is the base of the Team Flash. I've wanted to see this place since I can remember. Of course, I'm gonna be okay," William blurted out quickly and cleared his throat in the end. He nudged Oliver's arm and smiled at him encouragingly. "Don't worry about me. Go get him, Dad."

Oliver smiled back at him and then glanced at both Cisco and Caitlin. "You wouldn't mind-"

"We'll watch over him for you. Now just go!" Caitlin chuckled and showed him the direction to the Speed Lab.

Oliver sheepishly nodded, but refused to lose any more minutes. Without saying anything else, he headed towards the Speed Lab, hating the fact how his heartbeat was rapidly quickening.

* * *

Barry had been training for a few hours, running so fast that he could already feel his whole body aching and desperately begging for food to get more energy. Barry knew very well that he was recklessly making it worse with each passed second, but he couldn't find it within him to stop no matter how hard he tried. After all, this was the only way how to get his mind off of the things, which had already been paining him for far too long. Oliver, in particular, was the constant phenomenon on his mind that was so resilient in giving him some kind of break. And he hated it to say the least.

He hadn't heard about the Emerald Archer since their last encounter. And of course, it kept bugging him every time he'd allowed himself to be distracted, which was in fact all the time.

He knew he was being ridiculous. He could simply just call or run to Star City even, just to make sure everything was okay, and that Oliver was already there, safe and sound. If just his fear hadn't been stronger than him. That and also the fact he was sick of running, because he was convinced it was pointless.

Someone intended to prove him wrong about that.

It didn't take long until he'd managed to spot from a corner of his eye while he was running that someone entered the Speed Lab. Having no idea who it was, he still decided to call it off for today. However, when he made a stop in the center of the lab, took down his hood and his eyes managed to spot the one and only Oliver Queen, he couldn't help but stay completely stunned, secretly hating that his heart was now beating much faster than it had been the whole time he was running.

However, Oliver on the other hand wasn't doing any better either. Because there had been only a few things in this world he couldn't exactly cope with and the sight of Barry with his hair all messy from the mask was one of them. Then again, seeing Barry in any way whatsoever was something, which would always throw him off the edge, but no one needed to know about, right?

"Ollie! I didn't expect to see you here," Barry remarked and hugged himself timidly, avoiding Oliver's blue eyes as much as he'd dared.

Oliver, obviously, noticed that and bit his lips sadly. "You've been running to Star City almost every night these past few days. It was a damn time I would return the favor."

"Yeah, but I have superspeed and you are the mayor of Star City."

Oliver waved his hand slightly and smiled. "I'm sure Star can survive a few more days without its mayor."

Barry's smile in return wasn't that comfortably subtle or sheepish. It was strained and although Barry was fully aware of that, it was the best he could do. During these past days his feelings for Oliver had increased so much, that he could no longer feel at peace whenever Oliver was by his side. Even smiling felt too hard for him. Because he knew that if he let his guard down, Oliver would notice instantly, and their friendship would end in the worst way possible.

If that was at stake then he was willing to do anything to prevent that from happening, even though keeping his feelings in bay had been getting to be more and more difficult to control for him with each day.

"How did it go with Slade?" he asked to get his mind back in the game somehow.

Oliver crossed arms over his chest and shifted his weight to one side. "It had its ups and downs."

Barry chuckled slightly in return. "So a normal mission, then?"

Oliver smiled weakly and took a step towards the brunet, yet still leaving the distance between them long and nowhere close to venturesome. "Not quite. But that's partly the reason why I'm here."

Barry's smile instantly vanished, and he became tense once again. "Look, Ollie, if this is about how I acted before you left, I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to be so stubbornly worried. There was no logical reason for my actions and it won't happen again, I swear."

Oliver took last remaining steps towards him without any hesitation and gripped his arm reassuringly. "It's okay, Barry, I'm not mad at you. I can hardly blame you considering I would probably act the same way if the roles were reversed."

Barry completely froze at the sensation of Oliver's hand on his arm. Yet his eyes kept glittering with hope. Had he really just heard that right? "You would?"

Oliver pursed his lips awkwardly and let his hand return to his side, suspecting that it wasn't a slight whine of disapproval he'd just heard from Barry as he did so. "Yeah, well, while I was gone, I've realized a few things."

Barry didn't dare to move nor to speak. He was too scared that if he did anything like that, Oliver would never finish what he had to say. And although they were still dangerously close to each other, Barry didn't let that bother him anymore. This was much more important.

Oliver sighed and pressed his eyes shut in frustration, hating how difficult it felt to say what feelings he held in his heart. In the end, however, he'd managed to take a breath and began again. "One of those few things is how much you managed to help William. And I don't mean just with school. You've actually managed to bring some light into his life. He's smiling again and is much happier. All thanks to you."

Barry sheepishly smiled at the ground, touched beyond imagination. "It's not just about me. You make him happy too."

Oliver grinned warmly. "Yeah, I know. But now I can finally see that there is something more to it. He just keeps asking about you whenever you're not there just because he misses you. It's his way of showing that he no longer wants to live his life without you in it… and I feel the same way."

Barry's head instantly lifted back up. He could swear his heart had skipped a beat as he'd heard the last words come from Oliver's mouth. With wide eyes all he managed to do was just stutter nervously: "Wha-what do you mean by that?"

Oliver smiled warmly and cupped Barry's face gently, in case Barry would be totally against the gesture. But the brunet didn't protest nor flinched, and Oliver could call that a slight win. "I mean that some time ago, I've managed to fall in love and those feelings have been growing stronger ever since then."

Barry tried really hard to believe Oliver's words. Because there was nothing in this world he would rather do, but everything else kept convincing him not to. No matter what happened. He had to fight a strong urge not to place his hand on one of Oliver's and most importantly not to give in completely. Because this wasn't real. It couldn't be. It could've been a dream or some stupid fantasy he was having while working in CCPD, but there was no way Barry would actually believe that Oliver felt the same way.

So he promptly pulled away from the close contact they held and started fidgeting. "You don't mean that. You can't mean that!"

Oliver's heart hurt tremendously when he saw Barry's reaction. Why it was so hard for the brunet to believe that he loved him, Oliver had no idea, but there was one thing for sure. He would keep convincing him again and again and again, for as long as Barry needed him to. Because it was all worth it. Always would be.

"Barry, while you were in the Speed Force, those six months were probably the worst time of my life, even after my five years in hell. Because at least there I was sure of one thing – that the people I loved were safe. But you were gone, and I had no idea whether you were suffering or not. And it was killing me. The situation on Lian Yu could have gone a lot worse. I mean I still feel terrible that Samantha died that day and that Thea is still in a coma because of that, but my whole team survived, and I still felt alone. More than I've felt in years in fact. You can't even fathom how much it hurt when Cisco told me you were gone."

Barry stopped moving right away and turned around to face Oliver again, letting the words sink in. And when they did, a slight inch of hope ignited in his heart. "You're wrong."

Oliver frowned and tilted his head to one side confusedly. "About what?"

"I know exactly how it must've hurt, because… because I've felt the same pain. Those six months were a hell for me. And when I finally got out and actually came back to my senses, the first thing I did was that I thought of you."

Oliver ran a hand through his hair and forced himself to keep the eye contact with the brunet still, no matter how hard it was starting to be. "Since when have you felt this way?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't know to be honest. I've always seen you differently than anyone else I've known. Then I build up this stupid crush on you, which made it quite difficult to be around you and act like everything is fine. But it was the Speed Force that made me realize that I've fallen in love with you, as foolishly as I could. That's also why I kept so much distance when I escaped the Speed Force."

"You were scared that if you did come to Star, I would find out," Oliver finished for him softly, silently laughing but at the same time touched beyond imagination that the two of them had been terrified of the very same thing. That their feelings would be far too visible for the other one even though those feelings were yet another thing they had in common.

And now it seemed only ridiculous and funny how stupid and blind they'd been all along.

Barry smiled weakly. "Before, I believed that you could hardly notice something about me which even I had no idea that it existed. But then, when it became crystal clear to me, I couldn't convince myself to go after you anymore. Because to me never seeing you again seemed much easier to bear than living my life and knowing you hated me."

Oliver took a few steps forward, making the distance between them once again dangerously small. However, this time Barry didn't pull away nor stiffened. He stood still, looking directly into the penetrating blue eyes before him.

"But you did come in the end," Oliver pointed out and cocked his head to one side with a smug smile. "And I still didn't notice. I only started believing you might feel the same way when one particular ten-year-old gave me a pep talk."

Barry giggled at that and Oliver was more than just delighted to hear this sound again. "If it makes you feel any better he gave me one too."

"Smart guy."

"Just like his dad," Barry pointed out and smiled warmly.

Oliver reciprocated that smile right away and once again cupped Barry's cheeks lovingly. "And just like the Flash."

This time, Barry didn't pull away from the embrace. He stayed exactly where he wanted to and blushed more warmly than ever before, enjoying that he no longer needed to hide it from anyone. Especially not from Oliver.

And considering the sight of Barry's reddened cheeks and that irresistible smile was too beautiful for Oliver, he could no longer hold back. So he connected their lips in a slow, tender kiss. And the feeling of warmth which spread out through his entire body couldn't be bested by anything.

It almost seemed like all this pain they'd both had to go through was suddenly erased, without leaving any trace it had ever been there. And yet the memories of it were still as vivid as before, but neither Oliver nor Barry minded anymore. Because at least this way, the joy they were both feeling had much bigger worth.

And as they ended the kiss and pressed their foreheads against each other, this feeling didn't fade out. It kept getting stronger with each running second, making it tremendously hard for them to return to reality. But with a moment as perfect as this one was, who would even want that?

Oliver's hands moved to Barry's waist, keeping the younger man in the embrace even though Barry hadn't dared to even think about breaking it. And as they both enjoyed the delightful silence and kept sharing their air, neither of them could stop smiling anymore. Which was exactly how it should be.

"Don't you dare to run away from me now," Oliver whispered teasingly.

Barry chuckled slightly and brought his right hand to Oliver's cheek, caressing it softly afterwards. "Don't you dare to pull away from me either."

"Deal," Oliver replied right away with a huge smirk on his face and sealed it with yet another kiss. The happiness and relief they were both feeling right in that moment was indescribable but also unforgettable. They were determined to cherish it, no matter what.

Little did they know that Cisco, Caitlin and William had been watching them secretly via cameras the whole time, cheering and smiling proudly. Yet the proudest of them was definitely William. Because he'd seen it coming right from the start.

* * *

 ** _Thanks for reading! Reviews are always loved and welcomed. And sorry if it was very long and terrible!_**


End file.
